Originally Posted by
Trakhak
This subject---"How can I best learn to pedal unnaturally?"
Pedalling heel down, using your glutes and quads more equally, is unlikely to come naturally and it took me years.
It reminds me of juggling. If you attempt to juggle then most people will pass to their strong hand with their weaker hand, i.e. to their right hand from their left and throw upwards solely with their right. It is almost impossible to juggle three balls in this way, but it is the way that comes naturally. In order to be able to juggle with three balls, which is in fact quite easy, all you really need to do is unlearn the way that comes naturally and throw upwards with each hand to each hand. Once you have unlearnt the reliance of on your strong hand, learning to throw up alternately with each hand only takes an hour or so. And is it natural? It is certainly an easier way to juggle.
I think that cycling heel down is not nearly so effectively compared with toe down style but I think that the latter comes naturally, whereas the the former has a lot of merits. I would only really strongly recommend it to those who are getting old, or have sore knees.